Teacher used racist language during sweary outburst

A teacher has been struck off after she used racist language and swore at colleagues when they confronted her about changing coursework.

Jennifer Howie worked as the deputy director of business and ICT at Kingsthorpe College, in Northampton, Northamptonshire, at the time of the incident.

The 59-year-old is alleged to have become "aggressive and threatening" during a meeting about her making a "significant" number of changes to students' BTEC work.

After a misconduct hearing, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) removed Howie from the profession for at least five years, when she can apply for the ban to be lifted.

The panel said the decision was made due to "the serious nature of the multiple instances of misconduct found proven, the dishonesty found, the lack of evidence of insight and remorse, and the risk of repetition".

Concerns about Howie were first raised in May 2021 when she was found to have made amendments and additions to students' work before submitting it for grading.

On one occasion a student found that large parts of his work had been deleted and replaced, while another also recalled seeing new text that he had not written.

Howie initially claimed the changes may have been made by a fellow colleague who had access to her laptop, although this heavily disputed to have been possible.

She later said she had not edited the work with a view to submit it for grading but instead created model answers for learning purposes.

"Miss Howie's actions risked false grades being awarded and undermining the examination system, which is a central pillar of the education system," the TRA said.

Following an internal investigation into the allegations, Howie was invited to a disciplinary hearing in March 2023 before an aggressive outburst followed.

She also acted threateningly, became "increasingly... dysregulated and interruptive", and used expletives as she was removed from the room.

The panel said staff raised concerns for the safety of Howie, vulnerable students who were "visibly upset", as well as other staff and pupils, resulting in a partial lockdown.

After being escorted into the car park, Howie is alleged to have pointed her finger at a colleague's chest and accused the school of a conspiracy against her.

She is then said to have used racist and discriminatory language about a group of students from Pakistan.

Howie said she had limited memory of what had happened but was highly distressed and frightened, adding she would never intend to hurt anyone and was not racist.

Kingsthorpe College was contacted by the BBC.

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